Student Parties & Festivities in Liège

In this article, I'm going to list what I consider to be the main student (and normal) festivities in Liège. Of course there's more events than what I might mention, so please don't hesitate to add them in the comments of this article!

September

Le Bal des Bleus

This is the same thing as le bal des busés (see June)

October

Fresher Initiations

Evenings at the marquee, normally mainly for the old boys and girls.

Unifestival

The Unifestival is a completely free event with a few concerts and is organised by Fédé, the student federation. It's a way to get to know the Sart Tilman site at the start of the year. Wrap up warm though, as it's usually chilly! Sart Tilman is located high up in the woods so it's cooler than in the town centre.

Les Bals des Universités

An occasion to dress to the nines. It's a bit like an American prom and a bit expensive, but the champagne is flowing all night! I've never actually been myself, but I've heard a lot of good things about it. There's a drinks token system, and sometimes you have to pay entry.

November

Initiation Season

they will not sneak past you in Belgium! The 'togés', those that have already done their initiation who all wear different types of cloaks or gowns (like a judge) have their own new, naive student called a 'bleu' who wants to join the group. The 'togés' need to help their own 'bleu' to pass initiation and reach 'poil' status, the term for students who are accepted into the group. There's many controversies regarding the initiations, and having gone through it myself, I found that there were good and bad points, however I'll let you make up your own mind about it.

December

The Student Saint Nicholas

It's the second biggest event in Liège! All students wear aprons and go out into the streets to collect money to spend in bars that night. Saint Nicholas goes on for two days and is similar to Saint Torè but there is a procession Monday afternoon; the only difference is that, to my great disappointment, this procession doesn't have floats or live music. However, there's a sound system on place du XX août (which is the university for Philosophy and the Arts, located in Liège centre) and at quite a few of the outside bars.

March

Les Saints

Each faculty has their own party, their own 'Saint' e. g. the engineers call their party 'la sa saint', and for Philosophy and the Arts it's 'la saint philo' party, etc. These are evenings organised by the societies committees but they are open to everyone. Tickets are 18 euros with an open bar but there's often a discount for groups, like a group of 5 girls at 'Sa Saint' for example, or for certain faculties. They're held in a marquee at Val Benoît, close to la place Général Leman, and there'e plenty of buses to take to get there like the number 1, 2, 3, 4, 25, 48, and 58 for example. The Saints parties in March are pretty good, often themed, and with a DJ. It's a marquee and it's Belgium- it's usually cold and rainy during the event so I suggest wearing boots, picking some trousers you don't mind getting dirty, and wearing leggings underneath (if you're a girl). Personally, I have a little 'Saint's night outfit' with a hat, scarf, gloves, etc. It's also good to make sure you have a packet of tissues because there aren't any in the toilets. The Saints parties come to an end with Saint Torè which lasts three days.

La Saint Torè

is often on or around the 15th of March and lasts for three days. The party brings all the students of Liège and more generally Wallonia together. You can expect: fun atmosphere, games, music, pekets (which is a typical alcohol from Liège also known as Dutch Gin that you can taste all year long at the famous Peket House by la place Saint Lambert) and hangovers!

The First Day of Saint Torè

It starts on a Monday. We normally go out in the evening in the zone called 'le Carré' (narrow streets, plenty of bars, and located in Liège centre next to the cathedral), or to the marquee on Val Benoît where it's the all inclusive 18 euros ticket. You can drink as much beer as you want and sometimes there's other alcohol too such as jet 27 (a mint liquor), vodka, tequila sunrise, etc. As it happens, my favourite memory is during happy hour at a Philosophy night out where each time we heard the song 'cuir moustache' we got a free cocktail. I'll leave a link to the song for you here, just for fun! http://www.youtube.com/watch

The Second Day of Saint Torè

On Tuesday we find the strength to get up around midday to participate in a parade which has floats, popular music played on sound systems, and barrels of not just beer but also the famous peket, 'kriek' (a cherry infused beer, normally drank by girls), jet 27, and more! Every faculty has their own float. It's normally possible to get a drink package which costs fifteen euros on any float, no matter which faculty you're from. The parade commences on place du XX août and does a lap of Outremeuse neighbourhood (it gets this name because it's beyond the Meuse river) before stopping at the Torè, a statue of a bull, the symbol of the city, located in les Terrasses. At the end of the parade we sing the Liège faculty songs; each department has their own song. Afterwards, students end up going to le Carré or to the marquee at Val Benoît.

The Third Day of Saint Torè

Wednesday is the highlight of the three days. There's an event called les trottis in the afternoon hosted by the Engineering department at Sart Tilman campus, home to the Sciences Faculty, in the woods up above the town; you can get there on the number 48 or 58 bus, or there's lots of transfer shuttles for the event. The engineers organise the event so that they can pay for their end of study trip. You can join in or just watch and cheer on, but for those that do want to have a go, the event involves running around a muddy track with your scooter. The participants have to drink (or well, down in one, if we're being precise) a beer each lap... you can imagine the state of some of them after four hours on the course! There's also bars for the spectators and music is played at full blast; a great way to end the last day of Saint Torè. The evening ends up back at le Carré or the marquee for the tough ones who can still stomach a drink! For me, The trottis is the best part of the Saint Torè!

June

Le Bal des Busés or Le Bal des Moflés

is a party organised by all the committees combined (a general Liège students association aka AGEL). It has the same eighteen euros idea as the marquee, and you pay that price for free beer and sometimes other alcohol too; the only difference is that the party is located in the Sart Tilman car park. Remember it's the Sciences Faculty in the woods and although the university does supply transfer shuttles, I don't think they provide enough for this event so I'd catch the number 48 or 58 bus there. Oh yeah, one other slight difference; we finish exams around this time so for many students, the event is an absolute must. Like the marquee though; boots, old trousers, and big jumpers are definitely needed.

August

15th August

is celebrated throughout Belgium. In Liège, the party takes place in Outremeuse. There's many bars in the streets and free concerts. They serve Liège's speciality le peket, but you can also try shots of the artisanal alcohol in different flavours like strawberry, speculoos, vanilla and passion fruit. If you miss this event and fancy going to the 19th century Peket House, here's some more information in my article: Maison du Peket.

Of course, this is just a little glimpse into student events but depending on your faculty, you'll see just how many evenings are organised. For example there's the Garden Party HEC at Sart Tilman where there's bars and a DJ outside, and 'les soirées des cercles' with 'le Cercle Histoire' who organise evenings at places such as the Palais des Congrès, and many more. Of course it goes without saying that lessons are not on during the Saint Nicolas and the Saint Torè!

Have a good time in this crazy city!